From Tribhuvan Airport (Kathmandu) to Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi)

1 out of 5

DAMAGED LUGGAGE - INDI-NO

I had quite the experience with Indigo airlines headed from Kathmandu, Nepal to Delhi, India. So much so that I felt the need to write a well detailed blog as to why I wouldn't take Indigo again. My first and hopefully last negative review I will ever post - but so necessary to share with others looking to fly Indigo! http://giveforgranted.com/2014/09/indigo-indi-no-delhi-india/

Air India
I don´t usually do blogs and reviews but I think it might be helpful for others to share my personal
experiences on AIR INDIA flights.
I should mention that I do intercontinental flights 4-5 times a year from European hubs such as Frankfurt,
Paris or London. I am not loyal to any airline but I make my pick depending on what is on offer and what
suits to my plans. That was reason why I choose AIR INDIA for my Frankfurt-Kathmandu (Nepal) flight. I
should have been more careful:
Departing in Frankfurt I took the seasonal AIR India offer to upgrade to Business Class. My impression is that
AIR INDIA Business Class does in no way meet the standards of other Asian airlines such as Singapore
Airlines or THAI Airways. The interior of AIR INDIA Business Class looks worn out and old. The seats are
neither comfortable nor clean. The toilets are poorly fitted. Don´t expect the flight attendants to care for
cleanness or any supply of paper, tissues etc. Warm and friendly service does simply not exist. The nice
gesture of giving you pyjamas is devaluated by the way they do it: It is allocated regardless what your body
size is.
Since my upgrading was an offer I don´t know about the regular fares for Business Class flights on AIR
INDIA. If you consider going Business Class on AIR INDIA you should consider that it is in no way equal to
Business Class on other Asian airlines.
The return flight form Kathmandu to Frankfurt was a real mess: The check-in staff at Kathmandu was grumpy
and extremely slow (I was Nr. 6 of the queue and it took more than 45 minutes until it was my turn). The guy
was not able to handle a check-in for the connecting flight and I did not get a boarding pass for the
connecting flight to Frankfurt. If you think a web check-in would help to avoid this sort of trouble you better
forget it: The guy simply ignored my web check-in (by the way, that was also the case when I checked-in in
Delhi)
AIR INDIA did 3 additional airline operated security checks (nothing to do with the airport security check)
taking so much time that the flight had a big delay. Why they cannot do one single but thorough security
check remains their secret. There is no other way than to describe this procedure as ineffective and
incompetent.
But the real disaster was to come: When all transit passengers where guided to the transfer desk there was
no kind of any organization. Imagine 50 or more transit passengers pushing and shoving and trying to find
out who is in charge – and 5 AIR INDIAN people sitting at the transfer desk and doing no nothing than
looking bored and refusing any assistance or help. It took quite a while until one lady decided to tell the
passengers that she does the Frankfurt flight tickets ( I don´t know what happened to those passengers with
connecting flights to London and Singapore – I just saw that they were kind of chased off when they were in
my Frankfurt queue).
They lady in charge for the connecting flight tickets was obviously stressed – she might not have expected to
do so much work. She did not even have an eye for my pre-web check in – my question for the pre-booked
seat just got an unfriendly answer.
Boarding was also a not really delightful experience: Though the announcement is clear in that the
passengers board but rows there is nobody, but nobody who cares for this. Thus causing a jam when
passengers from the front rows block all other passengers. God help you if you are travelling with children or
if you are a less experienced traveler.
My personal advice: Think twice before choosing AIR INDIA. My fierce decision: Never ever again.